The Next Big Thing: Dance Music Genres On The Rise

Dance music is a mutant creature that is growing, changing, and adapting to an environment where beats are everywhere, including the Top 40. DJing has become a pop culture stock exchange where those involved are looking to pull a Martha Stewart (without the jail) and get some insider tips on what will be crowned as The Next Big Thing. Residencies hang in the balance.

Mutant clue number two: It’s kind of incestuous. The internet hype machine splinters genres into subgenres and subgenres into microgenres, and when one style loves another one very much, new hybrids start to pop up. They’re handed one of two fates: Die out and be labeled as musical missteps—flavors of the month, maybe—or grow to become the top of the food chain. House, techno, hip hop, dubstep –they’re all constantly morphing, reinventing themselves for an increasingly beat-hungry world. Really, “house” doesn’t mean the same thing in 2012 as it did in 1992, and it doesn’t mean the same thing in Chicago as it does in Houston.

With scenes across the world making their own brands of dance music, it’s time to play Darwin and see what’s being bred in the bedrooms, the backrooms, and the boulevards. Established local scenes come with styles fully formed, and some support may be all it takes to get some homegrown genres ready for a shot at a Grammy.

Juke/Footwork

Branching out from Chicago’s ghetto house scene, where machinegun drum tracks were married with lascivious rap samples and little else, juke music is an even faster, more syncopated evolution of that signature ghetto house sound. DJs like Funk, Slugo, and Gant-Man made a splash in the late 90’s as ghetto house originators, but when popularity began to diminish, they stripped the style back to its basics, adding some spring to the drum patterns and bumping up the BPM by a few notches.

Critics might say juke’s potential as a world-changing genre was DOA, as it has had a chance to explode in 2006 when it had a sharp but short rise in the number of DJs showing support. Still, juke (and footwork, the name for juke’s more experimental twin and its signature dance style) has recently piqued the interest of some European tastemakers, particularly those at the Planet Mu label. The recent exposure could make juke an explosive force –the fuse might have been just a little longer than expected.

Bounce

Taking a trip all the way across the country lands us in New Orleans, where bounce music is the regional sound of the streets. Just like the “Amen break” in jungle and drum n’ bass, bounce music draws heavily on samples taken from early 90’s track “Drag Rap” by The Showboys. Local producers mangled that beat, allowing New Orleans rappers to spit call-and-response lyrics that forsake nuance and technique for in-your-face dynamism- it’s simple, and it bangs. Also noteworthy is sissy bounce, which is bounce music made by openly gay rappers like Sissy Nobby and Big Freedia. The level of acceptance recalls the Warehouse scene of Chicago in the early 80’s, where gay culture pointed the way towards the future of dance music. Between the elastic nature of its cornerstone beat, the inclusive nature, and the sheer excitement in the sound itself, bounce has a ton of expansion potential.

Cloud Rap

In much the same way that recent indie rock has pulled inspiration from lo-fi, hazy, gauzy sounds, West Coast rap music is right alongside it. Cloud rap’s particular charm doesn’t lie with the lyrics (which still uniformly revolve around swagger) but the production, which dials back the kick drums and bombast in favor of a soft focus feel. The drums patter instead of thump, the synths bubble instead of buzz, and the samples come from airy female singers rather than dusty funk samples. It all makes for ethereal, proudly pretty beats that slink by on heavily blunted charisma and a surprising litheness; no full on dancing here, just head nodding. It’s the willingness to reach outside of rap’s traditional influences that gets cloud rap (sometimes derided as a premature industry buzzword) a spot on the list. If the sphere of influence continues to expand, we could start to see revolutionary productions start to creep into niche rap microgenres.

Afrohouse/Kwaihouse

Listening to kwaihouse, you could hear eleven different dialects (including English and Afrikaans), but the underlying sound is familiar enough to break through any language barriers. In the 90’s, South Africa developed Kwaito, a hybrid genre that slowed down a basic house beat and then layered traditional African instrumentation and singing over the top. Fast forward to the present, and Kwaito’s influence looms large. Afrohouse (or kwaihouse) forgets about the molasses-slow tempo in favor of a group of sounds that owe more to progressive house than anything else, but still retain a traditional African flavor. The African expression of house isn’t limited by American or European tastes, so if it works on their dancefloors, they add it to the mix. It can be a thrilling take on the genre, and it shows how outsider interpretation can reinvigorate an art form. If they continue to add disparate pieces into their formula, we could see a full-scale reinvention of what we consider world music.

DJTT Editorial Staff Pick: The “New” Deep House

In the aftermath of minimal, our friends over in Germany slowed things down and took a left turn towards soulful. While the new deep house trend has been growing strongly for a while, it appears to gaining strong traction in lots of markets. One could even argue it has already crossed over and is the current big thing, with hits like Rapture’s “How Deep Is Your Love” getting some serious play. This newest iteration of deep house is marked by its slow tempo (115-120 BPM) and very sparse, but soulful arrangements.

Your Genre Predictions?

Obviously next big genre movements are created by popular consensus – and through the DJs that drive exposure! So we’ve decided to turn this post into a bit of a fun game. What smaller genres do you think could champion their way into becoming the next big thing in dance music? List your favorite regional small genre (one per comment!) and vote up the responses you think will pop in 2012.

I’m down for new music, but that Juke track sounds like Bop-It w/ a drum machine (seriously, say “bop-it, twist-it, shake-it” on the 1 lol) . Alas, if you think the scene is getting worse then you need to get into the studio, your computer, and raise the bar. Personally, I would like to see 110BPM / moombah evolve beyond Dillon Francis.

I think the dance music is going into hardstyle. Look most of top dance chart you hear now has trance melodies and the beat is becoming harder and harder. I’m sure in some years you gonna hear rihanna or whatever singing in hardstyle tracks. What do you think?

Adam Smith

Afrohouse is the best

Liquid_Ace

Juke has such a wide array of sounds. The video doesn’t do it justice. Artists like Ital Tek, Bobby Tank, and Calculon are really moving this sound forward.

Juke/Footwork is NOT UNIQUE. Its Shuffling/Jump style dancing stolen from the raves and attached to hiphop. How gross.

Dave

Prediction 1 – It’s all about trap music now. Started ages back but the dub sounds with the deep 808 kicks and powerful snares is going to take over dubstep. However I think it will evolve to contain melodic breakdowns and house vocals.

Prediction 2 -The old style of house music will return in full force. Less synths and more piano.

Prediction 3 – This complextro sub genre will develop. Acts like madeon with his harmonic pads will bring it to the mainstream less dark electro and more happy stuff :)

Just sayin …. moombahton and trap? …….. HOW DID YOU MISS THAT????? literally none of these genres listed cover a WIDE range of listeners. They are all regional (New Orleans, Chicago, Oakland, Berlin, South Africa)

Right now you can drop Trap (Future Trap) anywhere stateside and get a good response
You could probably drop moombahton almost anywhere in the world and get a good response.

How was this skipped?

I feel like DJTT just picked genres that they personally had a taste for without looking at a broad range of people ………

Neurohop will be big. The bedroom producers have already seen all “dark drum and bass reese bassline” tutorials on youtube. Now they can layer those patches over some free hiphop loops and things will get worse than they did with dubstep..

Everyone thinks dubstep is taking the EDM scene by storm, but Hardstyle is having a superb effect on EDM, just look at the last DJ Mag Top 100 Djs, we had about 11 Hardstyle djs in, and about 3 dubstep dj’s in… About 40 house djs and 40 trance djs, 9 techno, blah goes on.. This year will be a crazy fucking genre year!

So called “Afro House” (in this post) was presented at Winter Music Conference in Miami 2012. Anane Vega’s event was soulful and real. There is something refreshing about this community compared to the drier Ultra mega-superstar DJ variety of house. Keep an eye out for the Angolan’s. http://www.ananevega.com/?p=295

REACT

MOOMBAH…. 100% – IT’S STARTING TO REALLY PICK UP OVER HERE ON THE EAST COAST (ESPEC IN NYC)

Bumbleclauouse

If Deep house goes big It’s F****d will be a sad time for all true House DJ’s

Djcbravo

I like the first two and the last two. I wasn’t feeling the cloud rap. The last one is very soulful and good for easy listening. The African Track is good. Thanks for the post, I just love to hear new music.

My pick for 2013 is Moombahton, albeit the more hybrid Moomba/Dubstep blend of it. Delta heavy type stuff. it hasn’t ‘really’ hit the states yet, once more tracks like 100% in the Bitch come out then it will go mainstream.

lerknerd

bloodstep

Djroodycall

you guys are missin tribal right there is gettin huge!

Djroodycall

you guys are missin tribal right there is gettin huge!

jake

My predictions: Trap and overall hood music is going to be the next big thing.

Moombathon seems to be the next big thing but I prefer Glitch Hop. Glad too see South Africa being featured . Im glad to be proudly South African d-_-b

Washuma1

i don’t know if psyprog become popular ,this music is a mix of progressive with deep,trance,tribal, minimal, psychedelic, elektro, the sound is clear,crystal,clean and the groove is soo adictive!
listen this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkvtwfCLTsw&feature=related

Yes, I believe in broken rhythms, and less commercial.For me the biggest problem are the productions that are not all keep a good level of quality or structurally, anyway, I’ve been investing time in learning those styles.
My beta set :D

What about Night Slugs/Fade To Mind style Bass music? Am I the only person still listening to that stuff?

Max Yankov

Exactly what I was thinking. May be it’s because this site has much more audience in US than in Europe? Honestly, I don’t know a single label that can reach Night Slugs level right now.

Dimo P

i am big fan of solomun sound…something of a style i produce myself…but its not the new deep house…its a sound thats been around ages now…the origins go back to christian morgenstern and further more…house and its variations will always be around..and we ll keep going strong…:) greetings from Greece
Dimo P

kuest

the next big thing is teaching these kids how to dance so they can do at clubs what clubs are meant for , dancing! you remember in the 70s – 90s when everyone at the club would dance ( and know who to dance, you’ve seen the videos) now kids are just either standing around or doing some kind of bop, no wonder they dont know what music to like, how are you gonna know good music if you cant dance to it??? dubstep…honestly wtf is that, the whole reason people like dubstep is cause they dont have to dance to it they just rock back and forth its either that or popping and locking and thats meant to be done with breakbeats.. not hating on the genre just exposing a notable difference. btw im not even that old im 23 and i know what real dance music is supposed to sound like so dont go calling me an old timer ;) . all i gotta say is look toward the past, just like fashions music styles come back and re-invent themselves take something old remix, with no wobble bass or anything like that.. remember back then people had to actually learn an instrument to be able to write music, we got it easy, we have programs that cut the process by 70% so when you make a good remix stay 70% true to the original song and add your 30. thats my 2 cents, not like anyones asking but hey… open forum right

Kill3r-k

In South Africa all the kids over here came up with a dance for fidget house its called Skitting/stepping you should check it out.Way better than the dumb shuffle dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHA8_S4UYk&feature=context&context=C4facaebVDvjVQa1PpcFM-rR1NsILQ6RXWfGTHcWvaeWSvkfPEM-0=

destroyyourradio

trap-house/trap-step

maybe an artist that does it for the sake of music not just to get big and sellout like all the headliners on the edc line up

Last great genre that I discovered was called “SwampStep”. Sort of held true to the BPM range of it’s cousin but isn’t sample based and more geared toward back porch country vocals. Perfect for any rough and tough bar scene.

Bob6993

Accordion based trance/house

Dj Kizouk Kizouk

As usual mama Africa have a word to say in music scene. Afrobeat it THE THING!

Phillcanning

This might have been a bit more relevant a year or 2 ago

Dnjs626

Diplo is bringing dancehall back like crazy. The hiphop heads love it too so I can see dancehall infused electro being really big

2tronic

Hate to say it but all of above were terrible if thats whats coming count me out !! With regards to the next wave of popular electronic dance music, at least with the UK I expect we are going to head back to a more traditional 4×4 beat. Radio 1 rules the UK & have been pumping dubstep down our veigns now for a good year ( including playing skrillex @ 7am which is just daft ) i’ve noticed a trend recently with more of the better produced electro house ( or the dreadful complextro tag ) been played on the station & them using it more for adverts etc. Also the Nu-Disco esq stuff ( Uktu S etc ) which is all good in my book as long as they stay focused on the decently produced stuff. I spend a lot of money each month on various genre’s of music with a focus on highly produced electronic music with soul….. As long as the next fad helps bring more of that along i’m happy

£££££

Mate Deep house is ruling the UK now, the whole Bristol Bass scene is huge. Dubstep is here to stay just like how DnB will never die in the UK.

2tronic

Don’t quite get your comments, good for you that deep house is ruling, personally its not my cup of tea, I like cutting edge electronic music rather than stuff that sounds like it was produced in the early 90’s but thats just me…. With regards to Dub/D&B. I like both & DJ D&B but I’m not a fan of the way the bass scene has been completely saturated by main-stream radio 1. Half the decent producers for Dubstep/D&B etc are not getting through to the main stream, but this is life….

Characteristics: Sits in the middle between (nu) disco and deep house
which often results in obscure disco tracks getting reworked to make them sound deep and modern. Beats per minute generally run from low 100’s (slo-mo) to end-120’s.

Controversy: The rise of SoundCloud and the popularity of editing have become instrumental to its success. As a result however, many of its music contains unauthorized use of samples. This has lead to some debate of course: http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1460

More like:
If you want to see what straight people will be dancing to in the future
you just have to look and see what gay people are dancing to now.

18

What happened to just music? When was the last time you remembered listening to something and had no idea what it was called or how popular it was but you liked it anyway. Stick to gear reviews guys.

Misterfaust

What genre-less music are you talking about?

Phaserjunkie

Downtempo! I’ve seen so much downtempo being produced.

Just Friday

These kinds of cycling EDM evolutions are constant, and goes from one remashed genre to another. After the nudisco from 2K05 to 2008-9, the dubstep in the late 2000’s (even if – without any disrespect- I was fed up ’till the beginning… “de gustibus…”), the deep house now rises in states (visionquest, seth troxler, theo parrish,…).
Here in Europe, the situation is a bit different because Ricardo Villalobos (and some other DJs) is a deep house god ’till ages, and deep house is already the big thing in a lot of places…
The next big thing (or the next mainstream-and-so-unintersting-thing if you are a hipster) is Berghain Sound : a come back to basic techno roots : Marcel Dettmann, Planetary Assault Systems, Ben Klock, Shifted, and so on…
This upcoming Old school Techno revival make us believe EDM is recycling constantly itself : NETHER THROW YOUR PLATES!!!

Those are all pretty bad except the “new” deep house. I’ve actually been producing a lot of 120 bpm deep, funky house lately. Definitely my choice for my next big thing. Not sure how music like this would fare to U.S. Frat kids though who only know Skrillex

I’m especially fond of the “new” deep house. I am not sure, whether the origin is really Berlin. I know for a fact, that Solomun (Diynamic) owns a club in Hamburg, GER called EGO. Artists like “Kollektiv Turmstraße”, who closely resemble the style are invited frequently.
However it is correct that all the good musicians are getting pulled towards Berlin at some point. ;)

Heard of West African AZONTO, inspired by Funky House. I have been DJ’in in this part of the world, having had quite some fun adding some House beats to the local Ghanian, and Nigerian music. I definitely believe we will see more Afrohouse influence , and not only from South Africa. here is my take on all this http://soundcloud.com/granmasterp

BaseBurner

moombahton? cumbia?

vanaema78

UK garage and 2-step sounds are just coming back.

Owen

went to a dubstep gig few weeks back, DJ played a garage track place went bat shit played some bassline place lost it again, he ended up just doing a bassline and garage set. It was sick and I don’t even really like bassline

in a major way thats where ive been hunting the most, although i have a soft spot for cats like gold panda

Otter

Jungle Breaks or “Future Jungle” are getting pretty popular. I’ve been enthralled by this scene ever since I found it last October. I predict more of that and a revival of the UK garage sounds from the early 00s.

1000 Cutts

Here is my predictions: Deep step Gabba ; Big Beat Minimal; Jungle Urban Slide Step; Country music techno…We do need to genre-ise EDM though I love deep tech house and would be gutted if I went to a club playing Tiesto, Guetta, Armin Van Trance or whatever..its like naming weed..

Most people don’t know the difference in genre anyway so who really cares? Just rock it when you play…. I always suggest that if you are going to dj you should learn how to spin different styles of music.

Maxy

ie Hot Chip are good = Noir, Haze – Around (Solomun Vox Remix) is good. I like it, nothing groundbreaking but good for those pre dance floor moments or driving on the freeway at night.

Djhustleman29

Bounce Music….this is more of a Memphis Hybrid version with a dub flair.

There is nothing dub or dubby about that. Not even a hint. Why would you say it has a dub flair?

Maxy

Noir, Haze – Around (Solomun Vox Remix) sounds like something Hot Chip may have done in a parallel universe.

Ekafsugob

Where do you find the Dj Gant-Man track i can’t find it anywhere i’ve tried beatport, itunes, and amazon music anyone know where i can find it?

DJ Bloodhound

nothing really on the internet about it yet, but there are some kids around the northern US and into canada taking the last bit of punk metal fads, and adding them to electro, house, dubstep, and minimal style sounds, making some odd mix of electric-metal. not like the korn/skrillex thing.

its mostly in the metal stages right now, but the roots are there.

consists of: Screamed vocal hooks, hard bass breakdowns in half time midways through the song, harmony chorus sung to arpegiated synth leads, and heavy kicking drums. i hope it gets out of this local scene, and into the internet underground, and above! it may not be dancy, but damn it sounds good live!~

Here’s a question: in the age of the internet, are there still local flavors of dance music? I used to think the internet was going to homogenize every city, but as I travel around, I think locality seems to be persisting pretty well.

All this stuff is great. I’ve been digging a lot of it for awhile. Here in the American South (Houston TX), Bounce never went away.
It is such a great time to be a DJ. So very, very much great music waiting to be discovered and shared.

rs

Lauti

I remember back in 2006/7 when I started stumbling upon these CRAZY videos of people moving their feet really fast with insane music. I loved the dancing and also the music, which was so hard to find, cause after asking them they told me “just rip it from the video” or whatever.

But it was so strange, cause I was just a dude from Argentina watching all these raw footage of something that was going on in the streets and schools of chicago, without any intermediaries that were telling me “this is what you have to listen to now, this is what’s HOT now, buy buy BUY”.

I’m always amazed by the power of internet, and particularly, the impact youtube is/will have on culture. And also think of how the old “vinyl digger spirit” really lives on in youtube diggers…sure its easier and faster, but still a similar vibe

Focusing in Psytrance sub-genres what I can say about the scene in Brazil is:

Progressive Psytrance (135~138 bpm) its getting really famous around here, its slower then crazy Psytrance (145bpm) and it’s not house so it’s working in a lot of raves and clubsSome Psytrance producers changed even their names to join the prog psytrance wagon like Ace Ventura that used to use the name Psysex while playing psytrance fullon…

Here the house scene is more into deep and dutch house. Tech house was very famous from early 2010 til late 2011 but now deep is getting more space.

House used to have his space on open air events like raves, private parties, pool parties all at the main stage with electrohouse but people got tired of it and are starting to turn into prog psytrance at main stages and leaving the House/Deep/Electro/Tech to second stages or private VIP floors…

LoopCat

This new Crosstown Rebels/Maceo/Hot Creations, Low Slung Deep House stuff is huge in Sydney at the moment (has been for about 2 – 3 years) and is already starting to get a bit repetitive.

The good thing about it is it’s more accessible than techno and a newer refreshing change from traditional house. A lot of underground parties are starting to pull big crowds which was pretty hard to do in Syd for the last 5 or so years

TURDSTEP!!! straight from the bowels of atlanta ga, the brown sound of turdstep is about to drop and make a huge splash. turdstep does away with the wobble-bass of dubstep, in favour of sampled intestinal distress; let’s be honest, it all sounds like one bad burrito too many after a while. other distinguishing characteristics are hastily-produced arrangements, liberal use of commercially available dubstep-by-numbers sound libraries, an abyss of bad puns, and a zealous enthusiasm for ‘only being in it for the money’.

House music with the underlying stomach churning bass of dubstep, yet slowed down to a deep house tempo with a garage beat

I call it…..BOUSE

Xman

interesting but Township Funk came out in 2006 (!!) and that sound went to the UK where it mixed with UK garage and soca, became UK Funky, had a few big hits like Donae’o “Party Hard” and then died more than a year ago… so completely scratch that entry please and focus on the South African deep house, which is what is bumping now as another poster suggested.

Also that footwork dancing looks a lot like the hardstyle/jumpstyle/”insert style here”style that’s been big in Europe with teens for a few years.

Anonymous

I have been a House and Detroit Techno head since 1987.
In the last 25 years I have seen the evolution of House and Techno music transform and morph into many genres and sub-genres, and as noted by the author some of these sub-genres have either disappeared, and in some instances – re-branded into a new name.
From 1989 thru early 1991 radio stations were receptive of this new dance music crave. The hardcore techno and rave scene sent house back to the cave where faithful followers have nurtured some of the original sounds forged in Detroit, Chicago, NY, London, etc. This underground movement that I called the cave, has kept Deep House and Detroit Techno music alive.
There’s no such thing as the New Deep. To understand the meaning of Deep you have to understand its roots, the essence created by Larry “Mr. Fingers” Heard. My goal as an underground Dj is to preserve these genres through my underground mixes.
Today’s house music does not sound like the original sounds forged in Chicago.
Today’s progressive house does not sound like the retro-sounding house music created back in 1992 after the rave explosion.
Acid House which had more qualities of Detroit Techno has now been labeled as sub-genre of Techno music.
Electro-House, is just a combination of Acid House and Progressive House, and to purist like myself and other Detroit Techno followers, its the new Rave music of the early 90’s. Peace.

I consider Deep a sensibility, not a specific set of production
techniques or sounds. Why define a handful of Chicago producers, most of
whom are no longer active, as the only “true” deep? An aesthetic as
broad and subtle as Deep was hardly exhausted by what Mr. Fingers put
out 20+ years ago. I suspect Larry Heard himself would affirm, with
pride, that he was only the beginning.

Of course House music doesn’t sound like it did 25 years ago. How boring
would that be? If it did, hardly anybody under 40 would care about it.

Why is there “no such thing” as the New Deep? Because you don’t
personally care for it? I know that’s not what you meant, but I’m not
sure what you DID mean.

DJZ

Did not like a single one!!!

Sonarious

Totally into the new deep house now for a couple of months. For those who dig it, check out facebook.com/sonarious and let me tell you one thing; it’s far from ambient. Played on a decent soundsystem, it has uber-phat beats that blow you away and create a sexy setting. Check out some sets that Solomun, David August etc. did in some big venues. Love is finally returning to the dancefloor!

Franzn

US rap is moving toward UK hip hop

Pedroferreirapulido

Electro meets deep bass drums and African Influenced Vocals. African Vocals will get big in the future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoIBJl-UxD0 this is what i’m talking about. Also, look for Peponi making a coldplay cover. these kind of voices will get big in the future. Africa is the last continent to “burst” in music, but when they start… uhhh, it will be big, trust me. (P.S – i’m european myself so i’m not being biased at all).

Jesus that’s some really poor selections there guys. These are all crap! It depends who you follow for your music but mainstream uk pop is still mainly, singer songwriters, poor man’s dubstep, house and pop disasters in the vein of GAGA.

Underground you can join any party you want but DNB, House, Hiphop and Dubstep are staples with some indie becoming danceable but mainly remaining a non DJ genre like metal etc etc. I mean come on DJs play music for dancing and there are only a few rave genres as stated above.

You can wish it all you want but the next big thing is gonna be the same shit it’s been for 30 years.

El Tiburon

These are terrible. The Bounce track is catchy but needs more beat and lyric change. On another note, please stop talking about afrohouse (Dj mujava nonsense) and focus on the real South Afro-house movement (Black Coffee and Culo De Song), etc…

There’s also Merengeton and Salsaton which are traditional styles mixed with reggae ton.

Moombaton is boring and that 115-120 house music is bordering on ambient. Zzzzzzzzz…
Soulful is making a comeback but it’s at the 124-126 mark with a more tribal feel.

Moombah is terrible, Dubstep is terrible. The new “Trance” (Electro House/Tech House) is terrible. The ONLY thing that is quality these days is what has been quality as of always, true Deep & Tech House.

Trollinabit

yes, if you need to take a nap.

Phulk

I guess electro swing will be big next time…

TWZT

DRUMSTEP… and I believe to the jungle drum & bass come back !

Owen

Jungle and D&B never died?

Djalicia

WHat about Moombahton, Moombasoul genre and subgenres

satchel

remember when fidget was huge? kind of died out now, like someone else said people seem to go crazy over swing house when it is thrown in a mix

Contact

I need to listen to more Bounce. I’m a sucker for Ghetto-Tech, Booty House and select Dirty South tracks. I’m not sure where she fits in, but Dominique Young Unique has some fun material. I also enjoyed the single “Express Yourself” by Diplo feat. Nicky B.

It might be similar. Footwork battles are insane though. Not sure if you would get the same craziness with chopped up Jazz.

dawgdick

Btw, all of the artists you mentioned for juke/footwork are all old school ghetto house people. How are you going to try and talking about modern footwork and not mention DJ Rashad/DJ Spinn? Or any of Ghetto Teknitianz. All those guys are alive and well, but none of them actually make true footwork (make no mistake I LOVE ghetto house). But to address something you think is ‘coming up,’ none of those artists are relevant to that except for providing the origins of what exists now, which again, I have a great deal of love and respect for. That slight nod to Planet Mu picking up some true Chicago artists barely scratches the surface of how much influence footwork has had.

Being from Louisiana, Bounce has been here for a couple years now and its just one of those things that you unconditionally love because its “home.” Like I will not sit here and proclaim it to be some amazing genre, but its fun and very culturally relevant to the music scene in the area, its already been mixed it with electronic shows that I’ve been to and I would say its been pretty welcomed by the crowds. Its really fun hype music is about the best way to look at it, people go crazy when its played and its a good time.

Ryan Supak

Some of the best party music. “Hollywood” by Chev off the Ave still gets them everytime.

rs

siddartha

Trap-Step, or any offspring of when dubstep and rap music, typically trap house, make music together. Note that it is not a simple “mash up” of rap and dubstep.

Prominent in Atlanta, GA. Unsure of origin, but quite possibly Atlanta based, due to the huge hip hop scene already in Atlanta since the 90’s (Waka Flocka, Gucci Mane, all ATL- based), and a growing EDM scene, that’s becoming more interested in dubstep in particular.

Notable Artists include: Heroes and Villians (just did a mixtape with Fki, Transformers n tha Hood), Taste Tester (at least as a DJ, I’m not sure if his recent productions are trap-steppish, but his live sets most definitely are), both in Atlanta.

dawgdick

I never expect to see any of this here, which kinda makes sense because as much as I love this site, it’s a place for ‘working DJs’ aka Party rockers (electro house, brostep, top 40). Dance music being below the radar is nothing new, but coming from a place/perspective where these genres thrive, y’all is mainstream as it gets. Alternative club music pushes boundaries and in my opinion represents the last of bit of dance music that actually represents any kind of counter culture.

seems you read too much resident advisor. I also enjoy maceo plex more than the other styles shown because i’ve been exposed to the former much more through the internet hype machine. The more a style breaks the norm, the more rejection it will feel outside its circle of influence.

Is that what this style is called! I have been looking for a way to nail this down for a while. Thank you.

Ryan Supak

I’d heard this stuff a few times, but wasn’t sure if it ever escaped from the “internet forum/sausage party” scene that some electronic genres get stuck in.

Chris de Lux

I always play a few songs in my set and i think the people really like it. and in germany and austria it becomes quite popular as parov stelar is always sold out. and i heard in heidelberg there are regulary electroswing nights.

this is going on for 5 years now in tel aviv….and parov stelar is amazing…

Quine

that was awesome! definitely listening to more of that

gusb2k

If you guys like Parov Stelar, you should give a listen to Caravan Palace. A bit less electronic and more jazzy than stelar, but still definitely awesome electroswing IMO :)

Chris_de_Lux

yeah there cool too! :)

Jilboxxx

I think electro swing had its big break in 2010/11. It went mainstream with We no speak americano which was one of the most pop tracks. Aside from Parov other notable artists are Gramophondzie, The Swing Kids, Der Dritte Raum, Rino Cabrera, Cravan Place, M.In (one of the earliest to produce it). Ill drop a set now and then and its hit or miss with crowds but when you catch em its really nice to see em come along.

i think it will become even more popular. at least in germany and austria i notice that all the concerts of parov stelar are sold out and there are “only electroswing parties”.
and in my sets i always play a few songs and the people seem to really like it.

I tend to agree with you – let’s keep it underground as long as possible :)

Formido

But isn’t comparing “deep” house and dubstep wrong , surely comparing dubstep and house as a whole is better , both have big commercial aspects and more underground (deep house /more traditional) sounds ? This being said i get the point of the post ;P

Owen

I am comparing them because they have the same underground cool sort of feel to them. For example LMFAO and afrojack make house music be there is nothing underground about them.

I am talking about the Circoloco DC-10 Deep Bristol bass house music thats trying to sound Detroit but it will never be detroit. If it gets any more popular it risks becoming another over exposed laughingstock.

Dubstep used to be underground. It got commercial at such a never before seen rate that most people now don’t even know what dubstep actually sounds like or where it comes from. Skrillex thanking “The Croydon dub guys” during his Grammy speech proves this point. The sound has completely changed and it lost it’s soul. You will never get the same vibes going to see someone play Dubstep at an event like EDC or some hotel in vagas as you would in some dank, dirty club in london or leeds with more sound system than sense.

When music looses its soul and depth it becomes stale. I fear the new deep house is next up on the chopping block. Jamie Jones is one of the headliners at Tomorrowland in Belgium this year. Basically Europe’s version of EDC. I can’t imagine that working if he is on the main stage. It will loose that special something that makes it so amazing. Intimate vibes in a big room.

Hopefully this wont happen. Deep house will not sell out and loose its quality control and all will be right in the world, but thats not how the industry works.

Regardless I have a feeling minimal is going to replace deep house when deep house becomes to mainstream or when it starts to get less popular. I am looking forward to that.

fortunately for you there’s no ‘skrillex’ of deephouse, and deep house will always be deep house

Matthew Watkins

Its hard to say, I think in centers with larger populations you will always have underground scenes that have their chosen genre attached. Having said that I personally can’t stand genre specific DJ’s. Coming from a “commercial” background I have learnt that if you want to play music that your crowd doesn’t know its all about gaining their trust. I feel that the difference between a good DJ and a great one is the ability to play any and every type of music and rock a crowd. Iv seen it time and time again, DJ’s who are “staying true to their genre” but playing to an empty room. Some may call it selling out but at a basic level we are entertainers and artist, who’s job it is to control the party or provide the mood. My point is I feel that genres are the least important part of Djing. The popularity of mash ups shows this guys like girl talk have always impressed me. If we replace the word genre with sound then we can more accurately isolate trends. So if the question was what sound is the next big thing? I would say artists like Madeon, Mord Fustang and Sexy Ray Vision would be my picks. Other wise if you wanna see the next big thing stop looking to the future and have a look at what songs are hot right now. Remember tomorrow never comes. Maybe we need to just play music that is popular now. Ps i think this article is terrible, but your site is amazing.

Kuduro is an exotic (Angola+Portugal), fast (130-140BPM), hard style of dance music, typically with rap in Portuguese. It’s been around for a few years so it might as well be on its way out, however, I think it deserves more worldwide recognition than it has gotten so far. The prime representators of the style is, in my humble opinion, the Portuguese band Buraka Som Sistema, with the titles “Wegue Wegue” and “Yah!”. If you stretch it a little, you can even fit M.I.A. into shis style; hell, she actually featured on a track of theirs, “the Sound of Kuduro”, of which the music video is an excellent example of the music style and associated dance style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CkXhtw7UNk

Kuduro is an exotic (Angola+Portugal), fast (130-140BPM), hard style of dance music, typically with rap in Portuguese. It’s been around for a few years so it might as well be on its way out, however, I think it deserves more worldwide recognition than it has gotten so far. The prime representators of the style is, in my humble opinion, the Portuguese band Buraka Som Sistema, with the titles “Wegue Wegue” and “Yah!”. If you stretch it a little, you can even fit M.I.A. into shis style; hell, she actually featured on a track of theirs, “the Sound of Kuduro”, of which the music video is an excellent example of the music style and associated dance style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CkXhtw7UNk

Cymaticmandala

Instead of mocking sounds other ppl have made… Make your own! The pool is as deep as it is wide and maybe Your Creation can be called lame by internet nerds nxt year!

Btw juke is awesome. :)

Theduckoff

Bounce primarily samples the brown beat by Cameron Paul, drag rap as well but not as much. It’s definitely the most likely of these to blow up. I play bounce during my dj sets and it always goes over great with the crowd. Maybe they’re biased since I’m from new Orleans but there’s huge potential.

DexterBee

Music and dance is definitely ever evolving. I kinda miss the days where electronic music had basic categories in order to describe what is being listened to or spun. As far as dancing goes, it is relieving to see people stepping to grooves, instead of fixed and constant moves like shuffling (The Running Man…. because thats what it is.lol). I miss the more freely self expressed dances that are unique to each individual. It presented a bound between those who fully love the music. We called them Groovers in the Bay Area in California back in the day. Im still a house groover til this day and when I see the very few at events, the music and art of dance is much more appreciated!

chrispop

what about the whole ghettofunk/bassmusic/midtempo breaks scene?

Mattmangrease

Moombahthon will be big next year.

Anonymous

moombahthon has already died off. fortunately. what the hell do you expect from an “accidental” genre created by playing a record at the wrong speed?

I agree… for me being an open format Dj, Moombathon has been bridging the gap in my transitons from lower bpms to faster BPMs… even thought i have seen a drop in the moombahton BandWagoners… at least that means quility over quantity… right?

MikeyKona

There is a massive monthly moombahton event in Toronto and many other cities worldwide. Sorry but I really think you are wrong on this one Ean haha.

1djgre

care to explain? I think that it sounds massive and still has HUGE potential… I mean… when i play a set of it – it gets everyone going… theres just something instinctual and sexy about it. Heartbreak, munchi and others are really pushing the genre forward… I’m not a big genre specific guy but I love playing moombahton.

I have always seen moombathon as a transition from my slower genres to faster genres… I find that this genre is almost a “gap bridger” in terms of giving the “swing” that a Downtempo/hiphop crowd would want.. with the heavy bass and synth leads that and Uptempo/house/edm crowd would want.. I will admit.. It has lost some steam when the bandwagoners tried to cash in on the “hot new thing” and spit out tons of garbage… but now that it still has its underground appeal.. we may start to see some quality tracks put out in the near future. just my 2 cents..

How did it die off? It has just started taking hold, look at beatport. There has been some Moombahton EPs on the top 10 list for a couple of weeks. Not to mention many of the big acts are playing moombahton in their sets, some you wouldn’t expect to play it. It’s just getting started :D

MoombahMasta

Couldn’t have said it better Hugo! Moombahton is being dropped and produced by some of the biggest names in the game from dubstep superstars to house legends and even some big DnB names as well. Only a few of the big names include Laidback Luke, Doctor P, Netsky, Angerr Dimas, Knife Party, Dillon Francis, Excision, TC and many many more! Get on the moombah-train or get the f*ck out of our way people! haha

i beg to differ, it’s still growing and changing cats like dillon changed the game from slowed down dutch house to its own thing…just saying I’d keep my eye on it…shout out to JayFay aka yung fay

Damgood

Drum & Bass was an “accidental” genre created by playing a record at the wrong speed (breaks at 45 RPM instead of 33 RPM in this case). I agree though, Moombahton has already died off. It was essentially a re-labeling of an existing genre (House) with thematic elements of another thrown in (Reggaeton). That sort of thing is a fragile existence because it cannot stand on its own (imo) due to its excessive specificity. Since it has to have the elements of both Raggaeton and House to be definitively Moombahton, only so many combinations are really possible until the sound becomes stale and repetitive to audiences.

daysofdissent

No, drum’n’bass evolved out of jungle. Jungle evolved out of breakbeat rave. Early ’90s rave music sampled the same breaks that ’80s hiphop records sampled but sped them up.

Moombahton is already getting pretty big. It’s gonna be up there with electro imho. I’m having a blast throwing my Techno/Tech-House take on some moombah style beats i’ve been making. 110 bpm is quite a fun tempo to work with!

moombahton is a latin thing, its probably gonna be around for a while but i dont think its gonna blow up and be a standard. its the next reggaeton, just wait and see

?????? ????????

It’s already big! The question is what will bi big next?

LordEC

I def see it as the one with the most potential, but I think that to get really bit it needs a bit more ‘boom’ So tracks like ‘Must be this feeling (Delta Heavy remix) will be the version of Moombah that make it big.

Dubstep is one genre, if you want a sub-genre pick a different word that doesn’t have dub or step in it. Need a reference? Try Drum & Bass ;-)

RockingClub

It’s a bit difficult and there are lots of different names around there. Some people also call it liquid dubstep etc.
To me it’s not about names and genres but about the music. Just tried to describe what I mean ;)

have you not just described what was dubstep before it commercialised? dub and 2-step

Owen

So you are talking about actual Dubstep before the Americans ruined it..

RockingClub

You’re right! Just wanted to make sure that everybody knows what I mean. There are just lots of different names for genres and subgenres out there. To me, what matters is the music itself and not what it’s labelled!

Jonathannobbyclarke

Whether you like the music above or not is irrelevant. The point is there is so much variety it is great for the music industry. A genre for all tastes if you will. Too much emphasis is about the next big piece of technology when it should be about the music. Technologu helps us experiment and be impulsive but its the music we should love.

Faderswagger

Did everyone else just get to the bottom of the page and go “…Those were all just terrible….”

not at all- I think noir and haze is amazing plus that bounce video is GREAT! The other examples are very unique, different styles that I personally never heard. Possibly not my personal taste but it’s really cool to see such original examples of locals flavors that might become the next big thing.

sum.zero

i agree. i particularly enjoyed dj mujava’s track, but am glad to see so much variety.

I’ve been following Noir for a while now in the UK and I think he’s really good too.

He puts out some really great stuff and you should definitley check out his back catalogue. He’s playing with Osunlade for the mighty Defected Records at the Ministry of Sound in London on Saturday if anyone is interested.

lourma

Noir, Haze – Around (Solomun Vox Remix) workes great in the club I play! Plus it´s good to listen to in the car or at home.

grifff

All except deep house

Guest

Agreed. Just terrible. Maybe the Afro one and the Deep one. But those aren’t good for big room dance and the other styles are just terrible.

mr.magma

They are definitely good for a big room, just gotta go to the right parties ;-) – http://youtu.be/edb34e5TKwE

mr.magma

Meant this video – http://youtu.be/PfAu-YHzRqs

Deecodameeko

The noir/haze track is great….maceo plex is actually maetrik(american) and believe he lives in Spain or Berlin now…he also one of the main overseers of crosstown rebels now. Everything else I can pass on. Good article to oPen up the discussion though.

Quine

Nope. I thought “some of that was very weird…some of that was kind of awesome”

I think these tracks have to be heard in the right venue to enjoy. Noir and Haze track has been a great to drop at one of my deep house gigs with a sample deck running a bit thicker kick underneath.

LordEC

I think the Afrohouse wasn’t bad, It is a bit like Moombahton which I like. I rather hated bounce and Cloud Rap…I don’t really see any of these becoming the next big thing.

indoorpandaraid.

Personally I couldn’t relate to any of it, but really for a few years i’ve not been able to relate to anything new coming out. It’s the worst period i’ve known in the music scene in my lifetime. All fx and no soul.

Emanster

YES! HAHAHAAA I heard most of these genres as being the next big thing like 6 months ago and I thought, ‘UGGH get me the F out of here!”

Shit is TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!
Juke is the worst joke of a genre I have ever heard! A DJ buddy of mine wanted to bring a Chicago Juke act to town, and I said HELL NO! Im not opening for some dancefloor clearing joke.

D

LMFAO look at it now. Juke is the next big thing to take over worldwide.